Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved additional grant financing of US$15 million for Tajikistan to expand the existing project aimed at reconnecting the country’s energy system to the Central Asian energy system through interconnections with Uzbekistan.

Evgeny Zhukov, the ADB’s Director General for Central and West Asia, noted that the bank actively promotes the development of regional energy trade through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, which fosters not only cooperation among Central Asian countries but also beyond the region.

He emphasized that ADB’s support is directed towards strengthening the resilience of the region’s energy systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The allocated funds will be used for the construction of a 22-kilometer high-voltage power line rated at 500 kilovolts in northern Tajikistan. This new line will connect the "Sughd" substations in Tajikistan and "New Syrdarya" in Uzbekistan, enhancing opportunities for electricity export and import among the countries of the region—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—and bolstering infrastructure to prevent outages.

Furthermore, the project will prepare Tajikistan’s energy system to regulate power flows and frequency, facilitating the integration of renewable energy sources. In the long term, this project will be a key element in transmitting electricity from the Rogun Hydroelectric Power Plant in Tajikistan.